2019 BICHI "NO SAPIENS" TECATE RED

2019 BICHI "NO SAPIENS" TECATE RED, GUADALUPE VALLEY, BAJA, MEXICO. Unknown varietal - possibly Dolcetto or Carignan. (Organic/Biodynamic)

"No Sapiens" comes from a dry-farmed vineyard and the variety was never formally identified,so it remains a mystery. Soils are sandy on the valley floor and rich in clay on the hillsides, with some granite soil, yielding wines with ripe fruit, soft tannins and distinctive saline minerality. Made in locally crafted concrete tinajas, this abounds with dark fruit and notes of dusty earth. Try it with: Grilled meats and veggies, pastas with tomato-based sauce, pizza.

Based at the Téllez family ranch in Tecate, just over the border from California, Bichi farms 10 hectares of their own Tecate vineyards biodynamically and collaborates with a growing family of organic farmers working vineyard land in Tecate and around Valle de Guadalupe. The majority of the vines are head-trained and all are dry-farmed, hand-harvested, fermented with native yeast, and aged in neutral barrel or vat so that the emphasis is on each wine’s Mexican terruño. "No Sapiens"comes from a single, dry-farmed vineyard comprised of a mysterious grape variety that remains unidentified. The farmer says it could be Dolcetto, Luyt thinks maybe Cariñena due to it's sharp acidity, no one is quite sure and perhaps it doesn't really matter as this wine shows its place beautifully. The head-pruned, own-rooted vines are planted close to the Pacific Ocean in the area of San Antonio de las Minas in Ensenada, Baja California. The grapes were harvested by hand towards the end of August, de-stemmed and fermented in 450L concrete tinajas. The wine was raised for 3 months in equal parts steel vat and older oak, and bottled without fining or filtration and only 10 ppm of added SO2. This is the most linear of the Bichi wines, with crunchy dark fruit, ample vibrancy and structure. A wine that will get better with time in the bottle. Decant before serving. (Importer)